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Thanks for the quick answer GWN. I thought of the paper towel method a couple of days ago but I forgot about it. It has only been 7 days since planting in soil cubes, guess I do need patience. But I just got finished building my plant light stand and want some artichokes to put on the stand.

I will try the paper towel method tommorrow. I am doing a new batch of seeds in soil cubes tomorrow so I may try that again also.

For those northern gardeners OR those in zones 6 and below, I thought I would share my experiment with you.First off, if you are starting seeds now, get them growing and put them outside VERY early and expose them to SOME cold weather in April, I started putting mine outside at the beginning of April last year. They can tolerate a mild freeze. That way they get conditioned to think that this is their second year and they WILL produce for you.The OTHER thing I have done is I took all of my artichokes (except one) and cut them down to about an inch above ground (in the fall after they die back) dug up the roots.( they were easy to dig up because the first foot down was mels mix) and I put them all into large buckets of peat moss and have left them in my greenhouse for the winter.I have a heater in the greenhouse that only comes on if the temp drops down to 3 degrees Celcius (37 farenheit) ( I also have LARGE jugs of water in the greenhouse to absorb the heat from the day) Anyways.All the roots have started to sprout new artichokes as the weather is getting warmer (the greenhouse gets up to 25 degrees without any heat, just the sun)So through this process and the plants can be divided as well so I will have 30 plants this year, all second year plants.

Did you know that not only the buds but the stems are edible. I found this out by experimenting one year long ago when I lived in the Monterey Bay Area of California. I had a chock with a long stem and left the stem on when I prepared it. The stem is just like the heart. Very, Very Tasty. So next time you harvest your chocks take some stem along with the bud, you wont be sorry. As to how much of the stem is edible, I have no idea. You who are growing chocks can tell us how far down you can go on the stem before it gets to woody to eat.

@GWN wrote:The secret is PatienceThey are slow to germinate. But not that slow. I did nothing special and I grew several varieties last year.My latest way to germinate has been to lay out a piece of wet paper towel and lay the seeds on it, fold up the paper towel, stuff it in a baggie, label it and put it on top of the hot water tankWorks like a charm. Just check every day to see signs of rooting and ASAP put them in potting medium

Thanks GWN, that worked. I got about 50% germination on my older seeds and 80% on this years seeds. Now if I can keep them alive long enough to grow a good root structure.

that is great, the thing you have to do now after they seem to survive is to expose them to some cold weather, to trick them into thinking they have been through winter.Last year I put mine out in april with temps down near freezing at night, seemed to do the job

The reason they need the cold is that they tend to flower in their second year, and so in order for them to produce artichokes in their first year they need to be stratified.In our area many people do this all the time since they do not overwinter here because it gets too cold. So they have to get the flower the first year, or not at all.

I just got thru building 4 cedar boxes 21" x 21" x 6" to plant my artichokes that I bought at a nursery. I am just waiting for the ground to dry out enough to set the boxes. I have been leaving them outside for about 2 weeks. Our nighttime temps are 35 - 45 sometimes down to 30. Hope that is low enough temp. Here are the four I purchased from the nursery.

Here are my babies I started from seeds. I have 6 that have their first set of true leaves and another 4 inside that just have their first seedling leaves. (the back two plants are basil).

QUESTION: When I transplant my babies, how many do I put in each cedar box. If you look at the following close up of one of the artichokes I purchased at the nursery, it appears to have five different shoots coming up. Would this be five different artichokes or one artichoke plant with many side shoots? I know you are supposed to plant them about 3 feet apart, but do you group a couple young ones together.